From Our Readers

Bonus Heat I greatly appreciate the helpful energy saving tips you included in the December 2022 issue (“Efficiency Tips for a Festive Holiday Season,” page 17). I bet you get a bunch of additional suggestions, and one that I will offer is to leave the oven door open after you have finished cooking and turned it off. This allows the remnant heat inside the oven to escape into the house to warm it up — you already paid for that hot air in the oven, why not put it to use doing something else! Of course, this approach should not be done with the oven turned on, nor if there are small children, pets, or others that could harm themselves on the hot door!

Thanks for keeping us informed.

Jud Ready, Morehead City, A member of Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative Multifaceted Artist I just wanted to commend you all on your feature of Anjimile in Carolina Creators (December 2022, page 24). What a great, informative, to-thepoint half-pager on this artist who I am not at all familiar with, but I truly appreciate the forward thinking on featuring someone, quite literally, out of the box and certainly not what I expected to read in a Carolina Country edition. Black, immigrant [parents], trans, but also a person of faith (because those two things can be true and exist at the same time), a history of adverse/traumatic shared and lived experience with addiction, etc. I mean the list could go on.

We live in a very political, divisive and, honestly, hateful world because we’re not willing to listen and give up our “right” to be right. Thank you for this simple and refreshing reminder that different is not bad and that we’re all not as different as we think we are.

Janet Anthony, Wake Forest, A member of Wake Electric

Carolina SNAPSHOTS

B

THIS MONTH: Carolina Country Scenes

If there’s one thing we can count on every January, it’s the amazing reader photos we’re able to showcase for our annual photo contest. This year we had submissions from all corners of the state, showcasing the beauty, heart and soul of North Carolina. We’re also starting a new opportunity to submit photos in 2023, with details below. And we’re pleased to bring our calendar of events section back after a break during the pandemic — you can find it on page 24. —Scott Gates, editor

Making a Difference Good people like y’all [Jacob and Dylan] make all the difference! (“A Legal Career in the Making,” December 2022, page 18) Keep it up!

Gray Sotir via carolinacountry.com

This month’s photos, drawn from our reader photo contest submissions, fit the theme “Winter.”

A Icy Reflection

Kyle Bass, Midland, A member of Union Power Cooperative B Snow-covered Farmland

Annie Seaboch, Hudson A member of Blue Ridge Energy C Stone Mountain State Park

Keith Hall, Elkin A member of Surry-Yadkin EMC

SUBMIT YOUR PHOTO! March Theme: In Bloom

Send us your best shots based on the upcoming month’s theme by Jan. 20 — we’ll pay $25 for those published. Submit high resolution digital photos and find full terms and conditions at carolinacountry.com/snapshots (no emails, please). We retain reprint and online rights for all submissions.